Starc takes 6/12 as Healy interviews husband after dominant morning in Mackay
Mitchell Starc took 6/12 to bowl Bangladesh out for 64 in the first session of the second Test in Mackay on August 22, 2026, then walked off to be interviewed at lunch by his wife, former Australia women's captain Alyssa Healy.
Starc's spell gave Australia a commanding opening to the match as Fox Sports conducted the post-session interview at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, with Healy waiting on the boundary with a microphone. Australia dismissed Bangladesh for 64, their fourth-lowest Test total, a response to their shock nine-wicket defeat in Darwin the previous week. Healy has prior playing history at the venue, scoring 77 against India in an ODI in 2021 and 70 from 44 balls for Australia A against India A in 2025. Earlier in the day Healy had also drawn attention for blind-ranking a group of elite fast bowlers and placing her husband at the bottom.
Healy mixed light-hearted banter with cricket questions at lunch, opening with: "Yeah, who would have thought they'd stitch this one up? I paid for dinner last night. Does that mean it's now your turn?" Starc replied, "You're paid the bigger bucks than I am." Healy then asked whether winning the toss and choosing to bowl was what Australia had hoped for.
Starc addressed the conditions and the team's reaction: "You said it before, you've played here more than the rest of us, but, yeah, I mean, we clearly weren't at our best last week," Starc said. "To get first use of that wicket, a lot of the Queenslanders here have said it's a lot like the Gabba. So, yeah, to make first use of that in the first session, you can't be too unhappy. Six in the first session, can't beat that. Obviously a little bit of anger. It's worked well so far, hopefully we can keep it up."
On the field, Starc removed Shadman Islam with the first ball of the Test, completed a five-for in 22 deliveries and returned later to claim the final wicket, dismissing Shoriful Islam to finish with 6/12. His victims in the innings were Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Litton Das and Shoriful Islam as Bangladesh were bundled out for 64.
The opening delivery carried historic significance: Starc became the first bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of a Test on four occasions. His fifth wicket in the spell also took his career Test tally to 440, moving him past Dale Steyn's 439 into 10th place on the all-time list. Pat Cummins added 3/25 and Josh Hazlewood claimed the remaining wicket as Australia completed the collapse.
The quick spell was framed in the coverage as a direct response to the recent loss in Darwin and supplied Australia with early control of the match. Bangladesh, however, fought back with the ball and reduced the hosts to 50/3 by tea, leaving the second Test finely poised after Starc's extraordinary opening spell.
